Which is Better: First Person or Third Person POV?

[Alys Sterk]

I've been working on a story and I have trouble accidentally go from first to third person in my story. It seems I can't choose which one I should use. Does anyone have any opinions on which one should be used?

Given your tendency to accidentally switch between First and Third you might consider First Person Quasi-Omniscient (AKA "a lens view"). This would not be TRUE Omniscient POV but about as close as you can get in First Person tense. This could be employed if the story were told as a retrospective, thus giving the narrator the ability to selectively include things which were not known to him/her when the story actually occurred but are known now since the story took place in the narrator's past. This would also allow you to retrospectively analyze and comment on the hidden motives, emotions and actions of other characters since these things have since been revealed to you as a result of your participation in the past events of the story.

Sample:

I employed all my skills with a firm resolve to succeed but, unknown to me at the time, there were forces at work which would render all of my dedicated efforts meaningless.

I have several books that go back and forth between the 1st and 3rd person and they were great reads, so perhaps both?

[Theresa Ammons Pinkston]

If this is your first or second draft, I say, don't worry about it. Just finish writing it and then go back and edit.

Otherwise, is the character you're concentrating on always the same? If not, you might try one character that does first person "talking" and everyone else "speaks" in third person like in the famous OUTLANDER series!

[Inkroverts]

If it's a story about the character's inner struggle and emotions, then I think first person works better.
But I usually write with third person, because I write more actions and focus more on multiple characters' choices.